bado have g o t it bad inform alYou say that someone has got it bad i f they are so much in love thatbago in the b a g 1 informalYou say that something is in the bag if it is certain to
Trang 2T H O I V I S O I M - - * -
AGuide to Idioms
Editors Kay Cullen, Panny Hands, Una M c G o v e rn and John Wright
Published by arrangement with Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd
Copyright © Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd 2000
Publisher/Global ELT: Christopher Wenger
Executive Marketing Manager, Global ELT/ESL: A m y Mab/ey
Printed in Croatia by Zrinski d.d
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10' 06 05 04 03 02 01
Heinle, Thom son and the Thomson logo are trademarks used herein under license
For more information contact Heinle, 25 Thomson Place, Boston, M A 02210
U S A , or you can visit our Internet site at http: / /www.heinle.com
A ll rights reserved N o part o f this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means-graphic, electronic,
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping,Web distribution
or inform ation storage and retrieval systems-without the written permission
o f the publisher
A C IPcatalogu e record for this book is available from the British Library
We have made every effort to mark as such all words which we believe to be trademarks We should also like to make it clear that the presence o f a word in this book, whether marked or unmarked, in no way affects its legal status as a trademark
Trang 3W h at is an idiom?
The term ‘idiom’ is not an easily defined one - it can refer to many kinds of words and phrases The traditional definition
of an idiom is ‘a group of words which has a different mean
ing from the sum o f its parts’ For example, you can m ake
someone’s blood boil or say they are a sight for sore eyes
Knowing the meanings of all the words in such a phrase w ill
not necessarily help you to understand the meaning of the
whole phrase.
This guide is designed to help anyone who wants to know about idioms, including not only what they mean, but also how to use them It provides an introduction to the most com monly used idioms in British and Am erican English Each idiom has its own entry with a full-sentence definition These not only define the idiom but also show it in grammat ical context Further usage information is given in the ex amples, which have all been based on a corpus Idioms are clearly labelled to show whether they are common in British
or American English and which register or level of language the idiom belongs to When the idiom has any synonyms or near-synonyms these are also shown.
To make this guide as easy to use as possible, idioms are listed according to a strict ordering system Under this sys tem, any idiom that you are looking for which contains a noun w ill be found under the firs t noun that occurs within
it So m ake som eone’s blood boil w ill be found under
For example not much to look at w ill be found under look
I f there is no noun or verb in the idiom that you are looking for, it w ill be found at the firs t adjective. A n example of this
kind of idiom would be alive and kicking, which w ill be found under alive I f there is no noun, verb, or adjective, look
for the firs t adverb. So anywhere from , w ill be found under
anywhere.
m
Trang 4There is one notable exception to this rule This is that
idioms of the type happy as a clam, or cool as a cucumber,
although they contain a noun, w ill always be found under the
firs t adjective. This is because there are often several possible nouns which can go with the adjective, and so it is more useful to see them grouped together.
This guide also includes Idioms Study panels which present
a variety of idioms that can be used in particular situations
Turn to the panel on anger and you w ill find sections called
bein g angry, suddenly becom ing angry, m ak in g som e one angry, and speaking an grily to someone These w ill
help you to express anger in many different ways.
Happiness and sadness
Intelligence and stupidity
Liking and not liking
Trang 6The mark 1 shows
where the main
you to find the
idiom you are
looking for
books
o cook the books (inform al)
Someone cooks the books when they
change the numbers in their, or their company’s, accounts in order to gain money for themselves or the company:
They are now saying that everyone is cooking the books I f its true, its a very serious allegation
boom
o lo w er the boom on som eon e (Am E;
informal)
When you lower the boom on som e
one, you severely scold or punish them:
I f my daughter stays out late again, I ’m going to lower the boom on her
card
have a card up your sleeve or keep a
card up your sleeve
You have, or are keeping, a card up
your sleeve if other people think that
you are in a difficult situation, but you have a secret solution which you plan
to surprise them with: D o n ’t cry Just wait and see Your old grandad has still got plenty of cards up his sleeve.
When people cheat at cards they some
tim es hide an e x tra card up th e ir sleeve
colour (A m E color)
add colour to something
Something that adds colour to som e
thing else brings some energy, interest
or variety to that thing: His enthusias
tic lecturing style adds colour to a subject that many people regard as dull.
day (see also days)
3 all in a day's w ork
You can say that something is all in a
day’s w ork i f it forms part o f your
everyday activities, and must be ac
cepted as normal, even if you find it un
pleasant or difficult in some way:
Controlling a class of excitable seven year olds is all in a day’s work if you are
a teacher on a placement scheme !♦ see also a n e ces sa ry evil > e v i l
Register labels show if an idiom
is formal, informal, insulting or vulgar They w ill also tell you if the idiom is used humorously, or if
it was more commonly used
in the past
Variants are always given in full
Examples, supported by the British National Corpus, show how the idiom is used
American spellings are shown in brackets
Cross-references
to other idioms are marked with
a diamond and introduced with
the words see also These draw
your attention to variations and other idioms with similar meanings to help you to expand your knowledge
in particular subject areas The arrow r> tells you where to find the idiom
vi
Trang 7d g o from A to ' B or g e t from A to ' B
You go or get from A to B when you go
from one place to another: How long
does it take to get from A to B?
3 A to Z
From A to Z means from the beginning
to the end, or, o f a subject, covered
thoroughly: She went through the whole
explanation again from A t o Z □ an A to
Z of London [= book of maps showing
all the roads in London]
accident
o an accident waiting to happen
You can say that someone or something
is an accident w aiting to happen if
you feel sure that they are going to be
involved in some kind of disaster at
some time: That son of theirs is an acci
dent waiting to happen,
o m ore by accident than de sign
Something desirable that happens
more by accident than design, hap
pens more through chance than be
cause of anyone’s skill or judgement:
He got the job more by accident than de
sign, since it was he who had to take over
when his boss first went off sick
account
o on no ac count
1 You say that on no account w ill you
do something, or w ill something hap
pen, when you w ill not do it, or it w ill
not happen, under any circumstances:
On no account will I ask them for money.
2 You say that something should on no
account, or not on any account, be
done, if it must never be done: Don't on
any account switch off the computer.
o settle an ac count
You settle an account with someone
when you do something to harm them
in return for something unpleasant that they have done to you in the past:
It has been suggested that the murder was committed as a way o f settling an account between the two gangs
ace
3 have an ace up your sleeve or (A m E )
have an ace in the hole
You have an ace up your sleeve or
have an ace in the hole when you have
a secret or hidden advantage that you
can use against an opponent: I bet he's got an ace up his sleeve; he wouldn't let anybody beat him that easily.
act
o act o f God
An act o f G od is a totally unexpected
natural event, such as an earthquake, which you could not have predicted or
prevented: Famine caused by drought is not an unstoppable act of God It is simply the most dramatic manifestation
of soil degradation, caused by poor agri cultural techniques.
Act of G od’ is a legal term referring I
to events for which you cannot expect compensation from insurance
3 catch som eone in the act
You catch someone in the act when
you discover them while they are doing
something wrong: ♦ see also ca tc h
so m eo n e red-handed > c a t c h
3 clean up your act
Someone cleans up their act when
they start complying with general stan
dards o f behaviour: I think its about time I cleaned up my act and started tak ing my responsibilities a bit more ser iously.
3 g e t in on the act
You get in on the act when you get
yourself involved in some profitable deal or activity in order to share the
benefits: Everybody's getting in on the act now; the market's totally flooded with computer games of this type.
3 g et your act togeth er
You get your act together when you
organize yourself, your time and your
work efficiently: We're going to have
to get our act together if we want to finish this job by the end of the month.
Trang 8arm 4 arm
The next time you write or talk about anger you might try to use some
o f the following idioms (Remember you can see how to use each idiom
correctly by looking at its entry, which you can find under the word
printed in heavy type.)
fly o ff the handle
lose your head
blow, or flip, your lid blow your stack
do your nut throw a tantrumlose your rag lose your tem perfly into a rage blow your top
go spare
making someone angrymake someone’s blood boil set someone’s teeth on edge
get a rise out o f someone
send someone away with a
flea in their ear
give someone hell
let fly
take it out on someone
give someone a piece of your
mind
speaking angrily to someone
rant and ravegive someone the rough side of your tongue
cause a stink tear someone o ff a strip jump down someone’s throat have w ords with someone
o co st an arm and a leg
Something costs an arm and a leg
when it is very expensive: I can’t believe
these shoes have broken already; they
cost an arm and a leg ♦ see also a p re t
ty penny > p e n n y
d give your right arm
You say that you would give your
right arm for something, or to do
something, i f you would like it very
much: I would have given my right arm
to be there with a camera.
3 put the arm on som eone {Am E)
You put the a rm on someone when
you put pressure on them for
something, especially a loan: Jeff is put ting the arm on his best friend for $200.
o tw is t som eone's arm
Trang 9arms 0 awakening
The next time you write or talk about appearance you might try to use
some of the following idioms (Remember you can see how to use each
idiom correctly by looking at its entry, which you can find under the
word printed in heavy type.)
attractive
a bit o f all right a sight for sore eyes
unattractive
a blot on the landscape not much to look at
like nothing on earth as ugly as sin
dressed up
You twist someone’s arm when you
try hard to persuade them to do some
thing; people often say, humorously,
that someone has twisted their arm if
they accept an offer readily: ‘Have an
other drink! ‘Oh go on then, you’ve
twisted my arm/
arms
o th row up your arms
You say that someone throws up their
arm s when they express a strong emo
tion such as anger or despair: She
threw up her arms in despair when I told
her Fd crashed the car again.
3 up in arms
People are up in arm s when they are
very angry, and are protesting about
something: My lads are really up in
arms Nobody believes this story about
the sacking incident.
art
3 g e t something dow n to a fine art
You say you have got som ething
down to a fine art i f after a lot
of practice you have discovered the
best way o f doing it: Over the years
Fve got it down to a fine art I make
lists.
atmosphere
3 you could have cut the atm osphere
w ith a knife
You say that you could have cut the
atm osphere with a knife when you
are describing a situation in which you felt that there were very unpleasant or unfriendly feelings between
people there: I think they must have been having a row just before I arrived - you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife in there.
auction
3 put something up at auction (A m E )
You put som ething up at auction
when you offer an item for sale at an
auction: Now I know where my records went Dad put them up at auction.
avail
3 to no a vail
You do something to no avail when you
do not get the desired result: I have scoured magazines for any information
on this subject, but so far to no avail.
awakening
3 a rude a wakening
You experience a rude aw akening
when you have an unpleasant surprise:
Jones is an idealist, and w ill probably face a rude awakening when confronted
Trang 10axe 6 back
with the realities of bureaucracy
axe (A m E ax)
) have an axe to grind
You have an axe to grin d when you
have a strong belief or desire that
something should happen, and you
keep telling people about it, and trying
to persuade them to see its importance;
you have no axe to grin d if you are
not very concerned about a particular
matter, or if you do not disapprove of
it: We all have an axe to grind ?iow that
our working conditions have become so
unbearable □ M r Doe insists that he is
no opponent of privatization as such
and has no political axe to grind.
w ater
You throw the baby out with the
bathwater when you are so enthusias
tic about change and getting rid o f old ideas that you destroy or dispose of
things that remain essential: The more ambitious supporters of the new method threw the baby out with the bathwater
back
the back o f be yond (informal)
A place that is in, or at, the back of
beyond is a long way from any public
facilities or houses: You feel as if you re
in the back of beyond, yet its only forty- five minutes from London ♦ see also in
th e m iddle o f n o w h e re ^ m i d d l e ;
ou t in th e sticks ^ s t i c k s ; o f f the beaten track > t r a c k ; ou t o f the
w a y > w a yThis idiom is often used to speak about
a place in a critical way
babe
o babe in the w o o d s (A m E )
A babe in the woods is a person who is
innocent and can easily be deceived:
Mary only knew the countryside, and
was a babe in the woods when she moved
to Miami
baby
o le a v e s o m e o n e h o ld in g th e baby
(B r E )
You leave someone holding the baby
when you stop working on a problem
or project, and leave someone else to
deal with it on their own; you are left
holding the baby when you are the
person who has to deal with a problem
or organize something because every
one else has left you to do it on your
own: Fve been left holding the baby; jo b
less, practically penniless, worrying
about how I ’m going to pay the rent ♦
see also lea ve so m e o n e in th e lurch
! >LURCH
) th ro w the baby ou t w ith th e bath
er break the back o f something
You say you have broken the back of
something, such as a task, when you
have completed most of it, or the most
difficult part o f it: They are confident that they have finally broken the back of the technical problem
o g e t o f f som eone's back (inform al)
I f you tell someone to get o ff your
back you mean that you want them to
stop criticizin g and pressurizing you:
I f I can just pay this last instalment, the bank manager might get off my back for a while.
o have your back to the wall
You have your back to the w all when
you are forced into a difficult situation which you feel you cannot escape from:
O f course, if your back is to the wall and you have to fight, then that is also classed as self-defence.
This idiom comes from sword fighting,when the person who is losing has walked backwards as far as they can
go, and must continue to defend themselves from a fixed position
o put your back into something (in for mal)
You put your back into som ething
when you try hard to do it well: I f he
Trang 11bacon 7 ball
really made an effort and put his
back into it, he’d be finished soon.
:> put someone's back up (informal)
You put someone’s back up i f you
annoy them: I think I put her back
up a bit when I remarked on her being
late.
C When a eat is angry, it raises its back • • " •
into the shape of an arch
) see the back of (B r E ; informal)
You are glad to see the back of some
one or something unpleasant and an
noying i f you are relieved to have
finished with them: I bet you’ll be glad
to see the back of that place when you
graduate, wont you?
they act in a way that is not typical of
their normal behaviour: Oh dear; he’s
got it bad; he's taken to w riting poetry now.
o in bad w ith som eone (A m E )
You are in bad with someone when
they are angry with you because of
something you have said or done: Wal ter took a two-hour lunch and, of course,
is now in bad with his boss.
o not bad or not to o bad (informal)
You describe something as not bad, or
not too bad, i f you think it is fairly
good, or i f you think it is okay: That’s
not a bad drawing □ 4 How’s your sore throat?’ ‘Not too bad
‘Not bad’ can, in fact, mean anything from ‘quite good’ to ‘not very good at all’, depending on the speaker’s intonation
XWhen someone walks away from you,
you see their back
o stab som eone in the back
Someone stabs you in the back if they
appear to be friendly when they are
with you, but then say unpleasant or
harmful things about you when you
are not there: She trusted Robert; he
was so unlike Graham, who was prob
ably stabbing her in the back at that very
moment.
o you scratch my back and I'll scratch
yours
I f you say to someone,‘you scratch my
back and I ’ll scratch yours’ you
mean that i f they do favours for you,
you w ill do favours for them: A fter ally
you scratch my back and I ’ll scratch
yours; that’s what business is about
bacon
o save som eone's 'bacon {B rE ; in fo r
mal)
You can say you have saved som e
one’s bacon if you have helped them
to avoid getting into trouble or if you
have helped them out o f a dangerous
situation: There is also an ‘undo’ com
mand which will save your bacon if you
have accidentally deleted a file from your
disk
bad
o have g o t it bad (inform al)
You say that someone has got it
bad i f they are so much in love that
bag
o in the b a g 1 (informal)
You say that something is in the bag if
it is certain to be achieved or obtained:
A ll they have to do is tell the people what they want to hear; and their re-election’s
Someone is in the b ag when they are
drunk: When Harold started singing, his wife knew he was in the bag
bait
o rise to the bait or take the bait
You rise to the bait, or take the
bait, if you let yourself get annoyed
when someone is teasing you and try
ing to upset you: D on’t rise to the bait; they’ll tease you even more.
A phrase from fish in g, w here you put bait on to your hook to attract the fish
ball
o carry the ball (A m E )
You carry the ball when you take re
sponsibility for something, or make
certain that a job is done: Everyone worked hard, but it was Melissa who car
Trang 12ballistic 8 bananas
ried the ball.
A phrase from A m erica n fo o tb a ll,
where the player who carries the ball
is the most important one
o drop the ball (A m E )
You drop th e ball when you make a
bad mistake, or when you fail: Dan
was in charge of buying the tickets, but
he dropped the ball.
A phrase from American football, used
when an attacking player loses the ball
he is carrying
o the ball is in so-and-so's court
You say that the b all is in a certain
person’s court when they are responsi
ble for the next move in a situation: I
told them we were interested in buying,
but at a lower price; so the balls in their
court now.
S'
In tennis, when the b a ll is in your
court, it is on your side of the net and
you must hit it back to the other player
o have a ball (inform al)
You are having a b a ll i f you are hav
ing an enjoyable time, usually socially:
Sounds like shes having a ball at that
university of hers; I ’hope she’s finding
time to get some work done as well ♦ see
also live it up > l i v e ; have th e tim e o f
your life > t i m e
j have something on the ball (A m E )
I f you say someone has som ething on
the ball, you mean they are clever and
have ability: I wouldn’t have hired my
brother if he didn’t have something on
the ball
o on the ball (inform al)
You are on the ball 1 i f you have all the
most recent information about some
thing: They’re very much on the ball in
this department where research is con
cerned 2 if you are paying attention to
what you are doing: He wasn’t quite on
the ball at the meeting this morning,
o set the ball rolling or g e t the ball roll
ing or start the ball rolling
You set, get, or start, the ball rolling
when you cause some activity to begin;
you keep the b a ll ro llin g when you
make sure an activity continues: To get the ball rolling, here are a few questions Fve prepared.
) a w hole new ball gam e or a co m p letely d iffe re n t ball gam e or a d iffe r
ent ball gam e a lto g e th e r (inform al)
A situation or activity which is a
whole new b a ll gam e, a completely different b all game, or a different
b a ll gam e altogether, is one which
you are not used to: L ife ’s a completely different ball game once you’ve left home and have to look after yourself ♦ see also
k ettle of fish x k e t t l eThis idiom refers to the fact that every game has its own separate set of rules
ballistic
o go ba llistic
You go ballistic when you become very
angry and shout at people: When I told him what had happened to the car, he went ballistic
balloon
o g o d ow n like a lead ba Moon (hum or ous)
Something such as a suggestion or a
performance goes down like a lead
balloon when it is not well received:
His sexist jokes went down like a lead balloon ♦ see also fall fla t > f a l l
ballpark
o in th e right ballpark, in th e w ro n g
'ballpark (inform al)
Something such as an estimate is in
the right b a llp a rk if it is likely to be
more or less correct; an estimate is in
the w ro n g b a llp a rk if it is far from
being correct: We exclude those observa tions where the estimates were clearly in the wrong ballpark.
s - >
In baseball, the term in the ballpark
means ‘within the limits o f the playing area’
bananas
d be bananas (informal)
I f you say that someone is banan as
you mean they are mad or stupid; peo
ple go banan as when they go mad or
get wild with anger: You paid £6000 for that? You must be bananas □ His mum
Trang 13bandwagon 9 barrel
would go bananas if she saw him smok
ing ♦ see also o f f your tro lley t r o l
l e y ; off your rocker r o c k e r
bandwagon
i jump on the bandwagon or climb on
the bandwagon
People jump, or climb, on the band
wagon when they join in, or show in
terest in, a popular activity only
because it is fashionable, and they hope
to gain some advantage or public
praise for doing so: Channel 4’s Satur
day-night series showing favourite T V
shows from the past has been so success
fu l that the B B C have jumped on the
bandwagon.
\
A bandwagon was a large and beauti
ful vehicle for circus musicians,
pulled by a horse in a circus proces
sion
bane
o the bane o f your life
Something that is the bane of your
life causes you constant trouble and
problems: This weight problem has al
ways been the bane of my life
bang
o bang g o es such-and-such (informal)
You say b an g goes a certain thing
when the probability o f it happening
or succeeding suddenly disappears:
Bang go my chances of promotion,
o bang on (B rE )
Something is b an g on when it is ex
actly right or precise; you are bang on
something if you are in exactly the
right place or situation at the right
time: That’s right You’re bang on; how
did you know that ? j The train left bang
on ' time for once; just the day that I hap
pened to be late ♦ see also s p o t on
> S P O T
o go w ith a bang (B rE ; informal)
Something that goes with a bang is a
great success: In the end the evening
went with a bang and everyone enjoyed
themselves,
o start w ith a bang
I f something starts with a bang,
it starts with great energy and enthu
siasm: He hired a band to start
his election campaign with a bang.
bank
) I wouldn't bank on it (inform al)
You say ‘I wouldn’t bank on it’ if you
think that the person you are speaking
to is depending on something which in
fact may not happen: ‘I t ’s okay, Henry will give me a lift to the airport.’ T wouldn’t bank on it, it’s his afternoon off.’ ♦ see also d o n 't c o u n t you r
ch ick en s b e fo r e th e y are h a tch ed
C H I C K E N S
bargain
o drive a hard bargain
Someone who drives a h ard bargain
negotiates hard to get an agreement that w ill be of most benefit to them
selves: The new managers were warned that the union chiefs were likely to drive
a hard bargain
o into the bargain (informal)
You use ‘into the b a rg a in ’ when you
want to emphasize some additional and rather surprising element in a si
tuation: They are expected to be exemp lary girlfriends, brilliant cooks, and to have a super job into the bargain
bargepole
o not touch som ething w ith a barge
pole (B rE ; inform al) or not touch
som ething w ith a te n -fo o t pole
(AmE; informal)
I f you say that you w ou ldn ’t touch
som ething with a bargepole, or with a ten-foot pole, you mean that
you refuse to have anything to do with
it, for example, because it is not safe or
reliable: I warned against it at the time, telling investors not to touch it with a bargepole.
A bargepole is a long pole used for|
moving a barge on a canal |
barrel
o have som eone over a barrel
Someone has got you over a barrel if
they are in a position to get whatever
they want from you: I f I don’t pay now, they’ll just keep putting the price up; basically they’ve got me over a barrel,
o scrape the barrel (B rE ) or scrape the
bottom o f the barrel (A m E )
You say you are scraping the barrel,
or scraping the bottom o f the b a r
Trang 14base 10 be
rel, when you have to use, or take, poor-
quality things or people because the
best have already been used or
taken, or because you can't get any
thing better: You’re scraping the barrel
a bit with those old jokes, aren’t you?
I f a barrel is almost empty you may
have to scrape inside it to get the last
of the contents out
base
3 o f f 'base (Am E; informal)
You describe someone as being o ff
base when you think they are badly
mistaken about something: I f you be
lieve we can afford that, you are way off
base.
In baseball, a runner who is off base
is in danger of being put out
bash
3 have a bash (B rE ; informal)
You have a bash, or have a bash at
something, when you try to do it: I ’ve
never sung a solo in public before but I
don’t mind having a bash
bat
o g o to bat for som eone (A m E )
I f you go to bat for someone, you
help, support or defend them: Everyone
blamed M ichael, so Jack went to bat
for him.
In baseball, a player bats for another
player who is injured or playing poorly
o like a bat out o f hell
You go somewhere like a bat out of
hell when you move at a great speed:
When I saw the headteacher coming I
was out o f there like a bat out o f hell
o o f f the bat or right o f f the bat (A m E )
When you do something o ff the bat or
right o ff the bat, you do it im m edi
ately: I said we were in a hurry, so he
signed the papers right off the bat
o o ff your ow n bat (B r E )
You do something o ff your own bat
when you do it without being told to,
or without help: I didn’t ask her to pre
pare a forward plan; she did it off her
own bat
bath
3 take a bath (A m E )
You take a bath when you lose a lot of
money in a deal or investment: The computer shares looked good, but I really took a bath when the market dropped
batteries
) recharge your batteries
You rech arge your batteries when
you have a rest, for example when you take a holiday, in order to regain your
energy and enthusiasm for work: D on’t try to do too much when you’re on holi day; this is a good chance for you to re
charge your batteries
battle
o fight a losing battle
You are fighting a losing battle if you
are trying to do something which is ce
rtain to fail: I ’m fighting a losing battle, trying to get Joanne to stay on at school.
3 half the battle
I f you say that something is h a lf the
battle, you mean that it is an impor
tant step towards success: (They’ve in vited me in for an interview.’ ‘Oh well, that’s half the battle, isn’t it V
bay
You keep, or hold, something or some one unwanted or threatening at bay
when you keep them at a distance so that they do not harm or affect you:
Concentrating on her guests would keep
her worries at bay for a little while □ The
best medicine for keeping colds at bay is a dose o f your favourite tipple.
/ - \
This idiom comes from the French hunting term ‘aux abois’, describing the stage of the hunt when the animal can neither escape nor attack because
it is just about to be caught
be
3 the be-all and end-all
The b e -a ll and end-all of something
is the final aim, or the most important
part of that thing: D on’t worry too much; good exam results aren’t the be- all and end-all of education.
This idiom comes from Shakespeare's
Macbeth.
Trang 15beans 11 beaver
beans
i full o f beans1 (informal)
You are full of beans if you are lively
and cheerful: ‘You’re fu ll of beans this
m o r n in g 7 know; I think it must be the
sun.’ ♦ see also bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed b r i g h t
j full of beans2 (A m E ; informal)
I f you say someone is full o f beans you
believe they are badly mistaken about
something: ‘You think the Yankees will
win the World Series? Boy, are you fu ll
of beans’
5 spill the 'beans (informal)
You spill the beans about something
when you tell people a secret, or when
you finally tell them something that
you have been keeping to yourself:
‘Come on, spill the beans What’s this all
about?’ ‘I t ’s something Mum said.’ ♦ see
also let the cat out of the bag > c a t ;
bear
o like a bear with a sore head {B rE )
You describe someone as being like a
bear with a sore head if they are in a
bad mood: ‘You’re looking thinner.' ‘Must
be a bug; Luke’s got it, too, not to mention
behaving like a bear with a sore head
when I asked to take an early lunch.’
beat
3 beat someone hollow (B r E ) or beat
someone all hollow (A m E )
You beat someone hollow, or all hol
low, when you defeat them easily: I ’d
been beaten hollow all year on the squash
court, and I was determined to get a bit
fitter ♦ see also beat someone hands
dow n i > H A N D S
o 'beat it (inform al)
People beat it when they rush away,
usually to avoid trouble; if you tell
someone to ‘beat it!’, you are telling
them, rather rudely, that you want
them to go away: Now beat it, before I
call the police,
o if you can't beat 'em, join 'em (in for
mal)
I f someone says ‘if you can’t beat ’em,
join ’em ’ they mean that i f you can’t
persuade people to change their opi
nions, then the most sensible thing to
do is to change your own opinion: M el
anie Simmonite says she started racing
20 years ago - her husband did it so it was a case of if you can’t beat ’em join ’em.
’Em, here, is the short, informal form
of the word ‘them’
beauty
3 beauty is in the eye o f the be holder
I f you say that beauty is in the eye of
the beholder you mean that things or
people that are considered to be beautiful by one person are not necessarily considered beautiful by other people:
In the final analysis, beauty is in the eye
of the beholder; and essentially a per sonal matter What pleases me may not please you, and my recommendation may disappoint you.
This idiom is often adapted to suit the needs o f the speaker You may therefore find expressions like 'perfection
is in the eye of the beholder’, o r ‘cleanliness is in the eye o f the b eh old er’ [=what is considered perfect, or clean,
by one person is not necessarily considered to be so by another]
o beauty is only skin deep
I f you say that someone’s or something’s
beauty is only skin deep you mean
that being physically attractive is not necessarily a good guide to a persons
character: Sometimes when you meet a beautiful woman, you know their beauty
is more than skin deep, and so it was with Rachel.
This idiom is often adapted to the speaker’s needs; therefore you may find ‘more than skin deep’, ‘little more than skin deep’, or ‘that skin-deep quality’, for example
✓
beaver
d beaver a 1 w ay
You are beavering away at something
when you are working very hard at it:
There, beavering away in their indi vidual boxes, were other Eurocrats sur rounded by shelves fu ll of files.
** - ■>
Beavers are animals which are
known for working very hard all the time
Trang 16beck 12 begging
) eager 'beaver (humorous)
You call someone an eager beaver if
they are enthusiastic about something,
or very hard-working, in rather a child
like way: The company takes on a new set
of young, ambitious eager beavers in Sep
tember every year.
See note at beaver away.
j
beck
) at som eone's beck and call
You are at someone’s beck and call if
you are always ready to carry out their
orders or wishes: I had to be at his beck
and call, night and day He often got me
out of bed at night to run an errand
bed
o g e t out o f bed on the w ro n g side
You say that you have got out o f bed
on the w ro n g side when little things
keep going wrong for you; you can also
say that someone got out of bed on
the w ron g side when they seem to be
in a bad mood: I must’ve got out of bed
on the wrong side today - that’s the sec
ond cup of coffee I ’ve spilt, j What’s the
matter with Alan today ? D id he get out
of bed on the wrong side? ♦ see also not
be so m eo n e's day >day; one o f
th ose days > d a y s
o in 'bed w ith (inform al)
You say that two or more public figures
or groups are in bed with each other if
they have the same opinions or are
helping each other without openly ad
m itting it: I t ’s supposed to be a self-
governing body, but everyone knows
they’re in bed with the Government,
o no bed o f roses or not a bed o f roses
1 I f you tell someone that life is no bed
o f roses, or not a bed o f roses, you
mean that things in life are not always
pleasant, and that we have to accept
the unpleasant moments too 2 I f you
say that a certain activity is no, or not
a, bed of roses, you mean that it is un
pleasant or difficult: I t ’s no bed o f roses
teaching in a secondary school,
o y o u 'v e m ade you r bed, n o w you 'll
have to lie in it
I f you say to someone ‘you’ve made
your bed, now you’ll have to lie in
it’, you mean that they w ill have to suf
fer the unpleasant side of a situation which they have created themselves:
I ’m sorry to sound unsympathetic, but you've made your bed, now you’ll have
to lie in it.
bee
) a bee in your bonnet
You have a bee in your bonnet when
you have an idea or belief that has be
come an obsession: ‘Is she still worrying about my diet?’ ‘You know her - once she gets a bee in her bonnet she won’t let the matter rest.’
i think you are the bee's knees
I f you say that someone thinks they
are the bee’s knees, you think they
have too high an opinion of themselves:
A nd he thought he was the bee’s knees, you see; he thought he knew everything.
♦ see also think you are th e c a t's
w hiskers > c a t
beeline
3 make a beeline for
You m ake a beeline for a particular
place or person when you go towards
them quickly and directly: Victoria made a beeline for the sandwiches.
Bees fly in a straight line when they are returning to their hive
)
beg
o beg to differ (form al)
You say that you beg to differ with
someone on a certain point, when you
disagree in a very formal way: I ’m afraid I must beg to differ on this point
beggars
o beggars can't be choosers
I f you say that beggars can’t be choo
sers, you mean that people who have a
great need for something have to ac
cept whatever is offered: I didn’t really want to take a job like this again, but I suppose now that I ’m unemployed - beg gars can’t be choosers
begging
) going begging (inform al)
Something is goin g b e g g in g when it
does not belong to anyone and is therefore being offered to any person who
wants it: There are a few sandwiches going begging here; has anybody still not had one?
Trang 17beginner 13 beside beginner
3 beginner's luck
You have b egin n er’s luck when you
are unexpectedly successful at an early
stage o f learning something: Congratu
lations to our new Assistant Editor, who
( thanks to a large slice of
beginner's luck!) made accurate predic
tions for all the World Cup matches
behind
3 right be hind som eone
You are right behind someone when
you fully support them: D o n t listen to
them — we're right behind you on this
belief
o beyond b e lie f
Something which is beyond belief is
incredible: His rudeness is beyond be
lief ♦ see also have to be seen to be
b elieved s e e n
bell
3 ring a bell (informal)
You say that something such as a name
rings a bell if it is fam iliar or reminds
you of something: His name rings a bell.
o ring the bell (A m E )
Something rings the bell i f it is exact
ly what is needed: Lower interest rates
will ring the bell for new home-buyers.
3 saved by the bell
People sometimes exclaim ‘saved by
the b ell!’ when someone is rescued
from an unpleasant or difficult situ
ation by something which brings the
situation suddenly to an end
^In boxing, a bell indicates the end of a"^
round and the fight stops f
belt
3 below the belt
A remark or comment that is below
the belt is unkind and unfair, or unac
ceptable: ‘Perhaps, M r Prentice, as
you re obviously out of work, you should
take a course in housekeeping/ That was
below the belt, but she went on.
In boxing, it is against the rules to hit
your opponent below the level of the
belt
3 tighten your belt
You tighten your belt when you have
to get used to having less money to
spend than usual: We have to do our best
to pull ourselves out of this recession and tighten our belts.
3 under your belt
You have something under your belt
when you have done or achieved it, and w ill be able to use it to your ad
vantage in the future: I f you have fol lowed our training schedules you will not just turn up on the day, unprepared and with no training under your belt
bend
3 bend over backwards
You bend over back w ards to help
someone when you do everything you
can to help them: They bent over back wards to make sure we were comfortable.
♦ see also lean o v e r b a c k w a rd s
' L E A N
3 drive som eone round the bend (infor mal)
You say that someone or something is
d rivin g you round the bend i f they
are annoying you intensely: That noise outside is driving me round the bend ♦ see also g e t so m eon e's g o a t o g o a t ;
g e t on som eone's nerves o n e r v e s ;
g e t up som eone's nose o n o se; rub som eon e up the w ro n g w a y > w a y ;
g e t on som eone's w ick > w i c k
3 round the bend (B rE ; informal)
You say that someone is round the
bend if you think they are mad ♦ see
also round the tw ist > t w i s t
benefit
3 g iv e s o m e o n e th e b e n e fit o f th e doubt
You give someone the benefit of the
doubt when you accept that what they
say is true, even though there is no evi
dence to support it: I ’ll give you the benefit of the doubt this time, but you must bring your identification with you.
bent
3 bent out o f shape (A m E )
You are bent out o f shape if you feel
insulted or angry: Sam has been bent out of shape since we left him off the guest list
beside
3 be side yourself w ith something
You are beside yourself with an
Trang 18emo-best 14 bill
tion like worry or anger i f that emotion
is so strong that you cannot think and
behave as you normally do: He was be
side himself with anxiety
best
:> at best
You describe something unsatisfactory
as a certain thing at best if that is the
most optimistic or favourable way you
can regard it: It would be a setback at
best if we were denied use o f their soft
ware.
3 make the best o f something
People m ake the best of difficult or
unpleasant circumstances when they
try to accept them as cheerfully as pos
sible: We were allowed one blanket apiece
and had to make the best of it
bets
3 hedge your bets
You hedge your bets when you do
something to protect yourself from los
ing something, being criticized, etc: I
suggest you hedge your bets by applying
for a university fla t, whether you think
you want one or not.
In gam bling, you hedge y o u r bets
when you make bets on both sides, to
make sure that you do not lose any
money whatever happens
better
3 better late than never
You say ‘better late than never’ 1 to
someone to show that you are not very
pleased that they are late 2 if you think
that it is preferable that something
should happen late than not at all: You
will have to accept that some permanent
damage may already have occurred Bet-
ter late than never, though
j b etter o ff
You are better o ff 1 i f you have more
money: a situation where those who do
not work are better off than those who
do 2 if you are in more satisfactory cir
cumstances: There are disturbed people
in prison who’d be better off in hospital.
3 better safe than sorry
You say ‘better safe than so rry ’ when
you want to remind someone that it’s
worth taking precautions, or to tell
them not to be afraid of raising the
alarm if they see something suspicious:
You might as well take out holiday insur ance; better safe than sorry.
3 for better or w o rse
Something that is the case for better
or worse is the case whatever you
may think of it: For better or worse, the computer has taken control o f our lives.
3 g e t the better o f som eone
Someone gets the better of you when
they defeat you, often because they are able to think faster than you; an emo
tion gets the better of you when you
fa il to control it: Curiosity eventually got the better of him, and he approached
to see what was happening.
3 go one better
You go one better when you do the
same thing as before, or as someone
else, only better: Bernard Tapie will be hoping to go one better than two years ago when they lost to Red Star Belgrade
on penalties ♦ see also keep up w ith
the Jon eses > j o n e s e s
beyond
3 be yond you
Something is beyond you i f it is too
difficult for you to understand: I cant help him with his homework any more; all that modern stuff is beyond me ♦ see also over your head > h e a d
big
3 make it big
Someone who has made it big has be
come very successful, famous or rich: I knew from a young age that I wanted to make it big in showbusiness ♦ see also
make it > m a k e ; make a name fo r you rself or make your name [> n a m e
bike
3 on yer bike (B rE ; slang)
People sometimes say ‘on yer bike’as a
way of telling someone to go away: FIX give you £50 for it ! ‘Oh, on yer bike!
bill
3 fit the bill (inform al)
Something fits the bill if it is suitable
or what is required: We need someone with some experience and an ability to mix well with all sorts of people; I think the first candidate fits the bill exactly.
Trang 19bird 15 bite
bird
o bird's eye view
You have a b ird ’s eye view of some
thing when you are at a point above it
from which you can see it very clearly:
I had a bird’s eye view of the procession
from the top of the lamp post 2 You get
a b ird ’s eye view of a subject when
you get a general, but clear, outline of
it: A good selective bibliography gives a
bird’s eye view of the relevant subject lit
erature.
) a bird in the hand is w orth t w o in the
bush
People say ‘a bird in the hand is
in the hand’, when they think that it is
not worth giving up something you al
ready have for only the possibility of
getting something better
o early bird
A n early bird is a person who gains
some advantage by being early: I f you’re
an early bird you’ll be able to see the sun
rise from the top of the mountain.
S ->
This idiom is the shortened form of the
saying ‘ the ea rly bird catches the
worm’, meaning that people who get
up for work early w ill be successful
birds
o birds o f a feather
You say ‘birds o f a feather’ to mean
that people who have the same inter
ests, personalities or backgrounds w ill
often be friendly with each other: T t’s
funny how people travel to the other side
of the world, and then make friends with
people of their own nationality, isn’t it V
‘Yes, well, birds of a feather ’
This idiom is the shortened form of the
proverb: ‘Birds of a feather flock to
gether’
o kill t w o birds w ith one stone (in for
mal)
You kill two birds with one stone
when you manage to achieve two things
with a single action: There are ad
vantages to an apprenticeship You might
as well k ill two birds with one stone by
doing and learning in parallel.
biscuit
ry take the biscuit (B rE )
You say that something takes the bis
cuit i f it is the best, worst, strangest,
etc, o f its type that you have experi
enced: I ’ve heard a lot of excuses in my time, but this one takes the biscuit.
/ ->
This is a British variant of the US form
‘take the cake’, which probably comes from the giving of cakes as prizes in rural competitions
bit (see also bits)
o a bit 'much (informal)
Something that is a bit much is unac
ceptable, unreasonable or unfair: I t ’s a bit much, her expecting me to wait for her and give her a lift home,
o a bit of all right (B rE ; informal)
People humorously say that someone is
a bit o f all right i f they find them
physically attractive: Who’s that guy at the bar? He’s a bit of all right, isn’t he?
o a bit 'o ff (B rE ; informal)
Something, such as a remark, is a bit
off when it is rather rude: ‘He said he’d
give me a lift to the airport, but now at the last minute he says he’s meeting a friend.’
‘Oh, that’s a bit off, isn’t it?’
bite
o a bite at the cherry or a bite o f the cherry
You get a bite at, or of, the cherry
when you get a chance to do something:
We had been quite successful on our first visit; now we were returning to have an other bite at the cherry.
Notice that this idiom is always preceded by a word like ‘firs t’, ‘second’,
‘last’, etc
o bite o ff more than you can ch ew
You have bitten o ff more than you
can chew if you find that a project or
piece of work you have decided to take
on is too difficult for you to manage:
I ’m going to have to travel up to London every day I ’m beginning to wonder if I ’ve bitten off more than I can chew.
o put the bite on som eone (Am E; infor mal)
You put the bite on someone when
Trang 20bits 16 blessing
you try to borrow money from them:
Eddie tried to put the bite on Jack, but
he didn’t have any money either
bits
3 bits and bobs or bits and pieces (in
form al)
Bits and bobs, or bits and pieces, are
small things of various kinds: There are
a few bits and bobs o f yours still here;
would you like me to send them on to
you?
j thrilled to bits (inform al)
You are thrilled to bits i f you are sur
prised and very happy about some
thing: She looked at the happy faces of
her companions, and knew they wanted
to be alone.4What marvellous news I ’m
thrilled to bits.’ ♦ see also w a lk on air
p a i r ; on cloud nine > c l o u d ; in
seventh heaven > h e a v e n ; o ver the
m oon > m o o n
bitten
o once bitten, t w ic e shy
Someone who is once bitten, twice
shy is afraid to attempt something
again because of a previous bad experi
ence: He hasn’t had a girlfriend now for
two years; I think it’s a case o f once bit
ten, twice shy
black
o black and blue
You are black and blue when you are
covered with bruises: Tcould n’t believe
it when I saw him He was black and blue
all over; he looked awful.’
o black and w h ite
1 Something which is in black and
white is w ritten on paper, and there
fore definite and cannot be legally
stopped: It sounds like an interesting
proposal, but I ’d like to see it in black
and white before we go any further 2
People see something, such as an issue,
in black and white, when they only
look at the two main opposing views,
without considering the points in
between: I t ’s a very difficult moral
question, and it does no good to talk
as if it was a simple black and white
issue
o in the black
You are in the black i f you do not owe
anyone any money: Business is starting
to improve; this is the first time we’ve
been in the black for two years ♦ see also
in th e red r e d
It is custom ary to use black ink to
w rite entries on the credit side o f a ledger
blank
3 draw a blank
You draw a blan k if you get no results,
especially i f you cannot find the person
or thing you are looking for: The police, who have been trying to track down the missing painting, have drawn a blank.
This idiom refers to picking a losing |
blanket
o a w e t blanket (inform al)
A wet blanket is someone who does
not want to have fun, and spoils other people’s enjoyment by being dreary
and pessimistic: 7 still think you’re mad to embark on something so ambi tious.’ (Oh, don’t be such a wet blanket.’
blast
o blast from th e past (inform al)
A blast from the past is a person or
thing from your past that you remember, but had almost forgotten about:
Oh yeah, A lvin Stardust, there’s a blast from the past.
o full blast or at full blast
A machine is on fu ll blast, or at fu ll
blast, when it is producing as much
power, heat or sound as it can: We had the heater on fu ll blast but we were still cold
bleed
3 bleed som eone dry
Someone bleeds you dry when they
use all your money: I f they hadn’t bled
me dry we could afford a better place
blessing
□ a blessing in dis guise
I f you describe something as a bles
sing in disguise, you mean that it
proved to be the best thing that could have happened, despite having seemed
like a disaster at first: ‘The accident was probably a blessing in disguise,’ ad mits Barbara.7 had ideas, but no experi ence I ’ve had plenty of time to prepare.’
Trang 21blessings 17 blood
3 a mixed blessing
A situation is a mixed blessing if it
has both advantages and disadvant
ages: Living here is a mixed blessing
Mixed because you can find real solitude
in the mountains, but lack of people often
means a lack of facilities
blessings
3 count your blessings
You count your blessings when you
remember what is good in your life in
stead of complaining: Count your bles
sings - you could have ended up in
hospital ♦ see also thankful fo r small
m ercies m e r c i e s : look on the
bright side > s i d e
blind
o blind as a bat (inform al, humorous)
Someone who is as blind as a bat does
not have very good eyesight, or cannot
see anything at all: I am blind as a bat
without my glasses.
3 the blind leading the blind
A situation may be described as a case
of the blind leading the blind if the
person who is supposed to be teaching
or helping others knows little more
than, or as little as, those being helped
or taught: ‘You gave me a lot o f help at the
beginning, explaining the theory.' ‘That
was the blind leading the blind I dont
know how I got through the exam myself.’
blink
o in the blink o f an eye
Something happens in the blink of an
eye when it happens very quickly: He's
good at spending a long time doing noth
ing,, then becoming highly active in the
blink of an eye ♦ see also in th e tw in k
ling o f an ey e > t w i n k l i n g
o on the blink (informal)
A machine is on the blink i f it is not
working properly: Oh dear; the telly's
on the blink again.
This idiom comes from the character
istic flickering of a faulty screen,
block
) on the block (A m E )
Something that is on the block is
being sold at an auction: He had to put
his paintings on the block to pay off the
taxes he owed.
blood
o blood is thicker than w ater
When people say that blood is thicker
than water, they mean that people are
generally more loyal to members of their own family than to other people:
‘We had a difference of opinion and she left hom e' said M r Harrison ‘But blood is thicker than water and I have been at the hospital waiting to hear how she is.'
3 in cold blood Something is done in cold blood when
it is done in a deliberately cruel or un
caring way: A t dawn they were shot down in cold blood by a firin g squad in the woods behind the camp.
This idiom comes from the medieval
b e lie f that emotion raised the temperature of the blood
o like gettin g blood out o f a stone or
like trying to g e t blood out o f a stone
(inform al)
You say that obtaining something is
like getting, or tryin g to get, blood out of a stone i f it is almost impossible
to obtain: Persuading them to give away any information is like trying to get blood out of a stone,
o make someone's blood boil (informal)
Someone or something m akes your
blood boil i f they make you very
angry: It makes my blood boil to see how people are ruining the country side.
o make someone's blood run cold
Something m akes your blood run
cold i f it makes you feel very frigh
tened: Her blood ran cold when she heard that voice on the phone again,
j out for som eone's blood or a fte r som eone's blood (inform al)
You are out for, or after, someone’s
blood i f you are very angry with them
and want to fight them or argue with
them: He's out of prison - says there are people out for his blood
o sw ea t blood (informal)
You sweat b lood i f you work very hard:
I've sweated blood to get him to agree to see me at all ♦ see also w o rk your guts
Trang 22blot 18 board
blot
~> a blot on the landscape (B r E )
Something such as a building can be
described as a blot on the landscape
i f it is very ugly and spoils the view:
Yesterday's blot on the landscape is to
days tourist curiosity, as lovers of mod
ern architecture will tell you
blow
o b low som eone a w ay (inform al)
Someone or something blows you
away i f it causes you to feel extremely
strong emotions: ‘She just blew me
away,’ he says 7 was so impressed I
asked her if she wanted to do some work
immediately.’
3 blow-by- blow
A blow -by-blow account or descrip
tion of something is a detailed and gra
phic one: I didn’t feel like hearing a blow-
by-blow account of his divorce,
o blow hot and cold
You blow hot and cold on someone or
something when you keep changing
your attitude towards them: ‘You don’t
know where you are with him, do you?’
said Dorothy \From one week to the next
Blowing hot and cold like that!
o 1 blow it (inform al)
You blow it when you lose your chance
of success through your own fault: 4How
did your interview go?’ 7 blew it.’
o blow over
Bad feelings between people blow over
when they pass and become forgotten: I
wouldn’t worry too much if I were you -
it’ll all have blown over by Monday,
j b low someone's mind
I f you blow som eone’s mind, you
amaze or confuse them: I blew D ad’s
mind when I told him I was getting mar
ried.
blower
3 on the blow er (B rE ; slang)
You are on the blower i f you are on the
telephone: You’d better get on the blower
to him now and tell him what’s happened
blue
o out o f the blue
Something happens out of the blue
when it happens without warning: She
appeared again out of the blue after fif
teen years absence.
This idiom refers to lightning which strikes out o f a clear skv
blues
3 g o t the blues (inform al)
You say that you’ve got the blues i f you
are feeling sad or depressed: Whenever
I get the blues I take a long walk in the hills or go for a bike ride
bluff
3 call som eone's bluff
You call som eone’s b lu ff when you
are not deceived by another person’s attempts to trick you into doing some
thing: One day, some man is going to call her bluff and she’s going to get hurt
In poker, to b lu ff is to pretend to have
cards o f a greater value than you
really have; to call som eone’s b lu ff
is to force them to show their cards
blushes
3 spare som eone's blushes
You spare som eone’s blushes when
you avoid saying something in public
which might embarrass them: We will omit the names to spare the blushes of those who made the biggest mistakes
board
3 go back to the drawing board
You go back to the d raw in g b o a rd
when you have to abandon something you are working on, and start again at
the planning stage: Radical change can
be achieved only by going back to the drawing board, throwing away the pre vious design and starting again.
3 go by the board (inform al)
An arrangement goes by the board if
it is ignored or abandoned: The Govern ment’s ‘spend less, earn more’ policy meant that health, education and other welfare spending went by the board.
This was origin a lly a nautical term, meaning ‘to disappear over the side o f the ship’
3 sw eep the board
You sweep the b o a rd in a series o f
competitions when you win all the
prizes: He swept the board with six wins, winning overall by 26points.
Trang 23boat 19 bones
This idiom refers to the board used in
many games, where one player wins all
the pieces or bets
V ✓
j take something on board
1 You take something on board when
you make yourself responsible for it:
Try not to take too much on board this
year 2 You take an idea on board
when you take it into consideration or
accept it: Thank you for your sugges
tions; we’ll definitely take them on board
when we start our next project.
boat
o in the same boat {informal)
Two or more people who are in the
same boat are having similar experi
ences or problems: By meeting others
who are in the same boat, they begin to
feel less alone and different.
You miss the boat when you do not get
a chance to do or have something be
cause you are too late in arriving or
asking for it: Even if we had celebrated
in a small way we would have attracted
tourists from all over the world The
council has really missed the boat.
3 push the boat o u t (B rE )
I f you say that someone has decided to
push the boat out, you mean that they
are going to spend as much money as is
necessary, and work as hard as they
can to make a particular occasion suc
cessful: When Andy Saville broke his
arm after signing two weeks ago, a lot of
people thought we would give up, but we
pushed the boat out and bought John
Thomas ♦ see also g o to g re a t
len gths > l e n g t h s ; g o to to w n on
som ething > t o w n ; go out o f your
w a y >w a y
3 rock the boat (informal)
Someone rocks the boat when they
disturb the balance or calmness of a si
tuation, or cause trouble: I don’t want to
rock the boat, but don’t you think some
one should bring this to the attention of
the authorities? ♦ see also make w a v e s
> WA VES
body
3 over my dead body (informal)
You respond to some suggested future
event with the words 'over my dead
body' to indicate that you are com
pletely opposed to it and w ill try every
means of preventing it: ‘Looks like the takeover will be going ahead,’ ‘Over my
dead body/
bogged
^ bogged down (informal)
You are bogged down if you have too
much work to do, or i f you are unable
to make progress because you are pay
ing too much attention to detail: I ’m not getting anywhere with this essay; I think I ’m getting too bogged down in the theoretical side of things.
C " ~
This idiom refers to the way in which movement is slowed down by thick mud
bolt
3 a bolt from the blue
A bolt from the blue is a sudden, unex
pected event: Now, was this forty thou sand pounds a bolt from the blue or did you know it was coming to you?
bone
3 close to the bone (informal)
A remark which is close to the bone is
one which makes you feel uncomfortable, perhaps because it contains some truth that you would prefer people did
not mention: ‘Would I be right in saying that we haven’t provided you with what you were looking for when you came hereV He was getting a little too close to the bone for my liking.
3 have a bone to pick w ith som eone
(informal)
You say that you have a bone to pick
with someone if you want to confront
them about something they have done
which has annoyed you: I ’ve got a bone
to pick with you Why did you go off and
leave me on my own? ♦ see also have it
out w ith som eon e > h a v e
boner
3 pull a boner (AmE; informal)
I f you pull a boner, you make a silly
mistake: Ned pulled a boner when he ca lled his girlfriend Sue instead of Alice
bones
3 bare bones
The bare bones of something are the
Trang 24book 20 born
basic or essential parts of it: The com
pany has worked out the bare bones of
the agreement and needs to work on the
details now
d make no bones about something
You m a k e no bones abou t s o m e
th in g if you are w illin g to say it or do
it openly: She made no bones about tell
ing me to take my business elsewhere
b o o k
o b y the book
You do something by th e b o o k when
you do it exactly according to the rules,
or in the way you are supposed to do it:
They make us do everything by the book,
which doesn't give us much space for
creativity
o th ro w the book at som eone
You th r o w the b o o k at so m eon e
when you reprimand or punish them
severely, especially for breaking the
rules: We cant do that; they'll just throw
the book at us.
C • ~
This idiom refers to the idea of char
ging someone with all the crimes in
‘the book’
books
o cook the books (inform al)
Someone co o k s the b o oks when they
change the numbers in their, or their
company’s, accounts in order to gain
money for themselves or the company:
They are now saying that everyone is
cooking the books I f it ’s true, its a very
serious allegation
o o n e fo r the books
Something that is one fo r the b o oks is
amazing or very unusual: That sun
flower is the tallest I've seen One for
the books, I ’d say
boom
o low er the boom on som eon e (A m E ;
informal)
When you lo w e r the boom on so m e
one, you severely scold or punish them:
I f my daughter stays out late again, I ’m
going to lower the boom on her
boot
o the boot is on the other fo o t (B rE ; in
form al) or th e shoe is on th e oth er
'fo o t (Am E; informal)
I f you say that th e b o ot, or the shoe,
is on th e o th e r fo o t, you mean that the situation has changed dramatica lly and probably that someone or something that was weak has gained
power: In the past, probably because she was four years older, Laura had always seemed the more dominant fig ure But now the boot was on the other foot ♦ see also turn th e ta b les i t a
b l e s
o give som eone the boot (inform al)
You are given , or get, the boot, when you are dismissed from your job: 7
thought you worked at the insurance company down the road V ‘Well I did, but
I got the boot.’ ♦ see also g iv e so m eo n e
th e e lb o w e l b o w ; g ive som eon e the push p u s h ; g ive som eon e the sack > s a c k
boots
j lick som eone's b oots (inform al)
A person lick s so m eon e’s b o o ts when they flatter them and do everything
they want: I ’ve had enough of licking their boots every time I need something; it’s demoralizing and humiliating.
o tough as old boots (inform al)
1 Someone who is as to u g h as old
b o o ts is very strong and not easily
hurt, either physically or mentally: Be neath her frail exterior, she’s as tough as old boots 2 Food that is tou g h as old
b o o ts is difficu lt to eat because you have to chew it for a long time before
you can swallow it: I ’m not going back
to that restaurant; the waiters are rude and the steak they serve is tough as old boots.
bored
o bored s t iff or bored to death or
bored to 'tears (inform al)
You are b o re d s tiff, or b o re d to death, or b o re d to tears, i f you are ex
tremely bored: We were bored stiff by the end of the lecture.
born
o not born yesterday (inform al)
You say that you were n ot b o rn y e s
te rd a y i f you do not believe what someone has told you, and you think that it
is naive of them to expect you to believe
them: Empty your pockets Come on I wasn’t born yesterday, you know.
Trang 25bottle 21 breakfast bottle
3 bottle out or lose your b o ttle (B rE :
informal)
You bottle out of something, or you
lose your bottle, when you decide not
to do it because you are afraid: I was
going to do this parachute jump, but I
went and bottled out at the last minute.
■r> hit the bottle (informal)
Someone hits the bottle when they
start to drink too much alcohol, usual
ly because of problems that they are ex
periencing in their life: A ll the
pressures she was facing caused her to
hit the bottle again ♦ see also d ro w n
your s o rro w s s o r r o w s
bottom
o from the bottom o f your heart
You feel something from the bottom
o f your heart if you feel it very deeply
and sincerely: I thank you from the bot
tom o f my heart,
o g e t to the bottom o f
You get to the bottom of a mystery,
for example, when you find out its
cause: F ll talk to the member o f staff con
cerned and get to the bottom of this.
bounds
o know no bounds
Something which knows no bounds
seems to be limitless: His generosity
knows no bounds [= He is very gener
ous.]
o o u t o f bounds
A place is out o f bounds when people
are not allowed to go there: The playing
fields are out o f bounds to pupils during
the lunch break
brains
o pick someone's brains (informal)
You pick someone’s brains when you
ask them for information about a sub
ject that they have a lot o f knowledge
and experience of: Being able to pick
your brains on the subject was an im
mense help
j rack your brains (informal)
You rack your brains when you think
very hard in order to remember some
thing, or to find a solution to some
thing: A blonde g irl waved at me from
across the room I waved back, racking
my brains to remember who she was.
, _ ■This idiom refers to the old instrument
of torture, the rack, which stretched the bodv
brass
) bold as 'brass (informal)
Someone who is bold as brass is very
confident and not afraid to ask for things, often to the point of being dis
respectful: She came up to me, bold as brass, and asked me for the car keys
brave
j brave it out or put on a brave fa ce
You brave something out, or put on a
brave face, when you do not show any
fear about something: I had to put on a brave face and try not to appear worried, but when I saw him I was shocked at how much he had changed
A business breaks even when it makes
as much money as it spends, but does
not make a profit: Although we had bro ken even, we were unable to go on paying wages.
o give me a 'break (very informal, rather offensive)
You say to someone ‘Give me a break !’
if you want them to stop annoying you:
‘Come on! Havent you finished yetV ‘Oh, just give me a break, will you? F ll do it in
my own tim e! ♦ see also kn ock it o f f
> k n o c k ; give it a rest > r e s t
o make a break or make a clean break You m ake a break, or m ake a clean
break, when you escape from a place
or situation, or separate yourself
completely from it: F ll make a clean break from athletics in two years time and I wont be competing any more.
♦ see also g iv e s o m e o n e th e slip
[ > SL I P
breakfast
o have som eone fo r breakfast or eat
so m eon e fo r break fast (B rE ; in for mal)
You say that someone w ill have, or eat,
Trang 26breath 22 buck
someone for break fast i f they are
likely to beat them easily in a contest,
or i f they easily gain control over peo
ple: Have you seen the size of him ? He’ll
have our Charlie for breakfast
breath
3 a breath o f fresh air
You describe someone or something as
a breath o f fresh a ir i f you feel that
they have a fresh and positive influence
on you and people in general: They re
member him as a ‘breath of fresh air9, as
a manager who rejuvenated the team
with his ability to motivate players.
3 catch your breath
You catch your breath when you stop
breathing for a moment, because of
fear, amazement or pain, for example:
A sudden noise made her catch her
breath; but it was only the wind.
3 don't hold your breath (very informal)
You say to someone ‘D on ’t hold your
breath ’ i f they are expecting some
thing which you think is unlikely to
happen: T ’m sure she’ll change her mind
when she’s thought about it.’ ‘D on’t hold
your breath; she’s not known for her flex
ibility.’
o save your breath
You save your breath when you decide
not to bother tellin g someone some
thing, probably because you know they
won’t pay attention: You might as well
save your breath; whatever you say,
they’ll do exactly as they please,
o take som eone's breath aw ay
Something takes your breath away if
you find it very beautiful, pleasing,
shocking or exciting: The scenery in
the Alps will take your breath away.
3 under your breath
You say something under your breath
when you say it quietly or in a whisper:
4Leave this to me/ she said under her
breath, and winked,
j w ith bated breath
You wait for something with bated
breath when you wait in great antici
pation: She waited for a reply to her offer
with bated breath
bridge
o cross that bridge w hen you com e to
it
If you say that you w ill cross that
bridge when you come to it, you
mean that you are going to deal with a problem when it arises and not before:
She lit another cigarette What would she
do when the secret was out? She would cross that bridge when she came to it
bright
d bright-eyed and bushy- tailed (in fo r mal)
You are brigh t-eyed and bushy-
tailed i f you are feeling fresh, well-
rested and eager to do something:
How can you be so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on only three hours’ sleep? ♦ see also full o f beans c b e a n s
broke
3 go 'broke (inform al)
A person or company goes broke when
they lose all their money and cannot continue to work or trade properly
o go for broke (inform al)
You go for broke when you risk every
thing you have for a chance o f being ex
tremely successful: A fter winning the gold in the under 16s’ National Cham pionships, he decided to go for broke and turn professional ♦ see also stick
your neck ou t > n e c k
3 stone broke or ston y broke or flat
broke (inform al)
You are stone broke, or stony broke,
or flat broke, if you have little or no
money left: Can I pay you next week?
I ’m afraid I ’m stone broke
brow s
3 knit your brow s
You knit your brow s when you bring
your eyebrows together in a frown, because you are thinking, or concentrat
ing very hard: He knitted his brows as
he tried to remember what she had said
brush
3 tarred w ith th e sam e brush (in fo r mal)
Two or more people are tarred with
the same brush if they have the same
faults: You never told me that! Not that
I ’m surprised; they’re all tarred with the same brush, that family + see also a chip
o f f th e old block > c h i p
buck
3 pass the buck (inform al)
You pass the buck when you refuse to
Trang 27bucket 23 bundle
accept responsibility for something,
especially when you refuse to deal with
a problem: The industrialized nations
are the real environmental villains
Shouldn’t we now be acknowledging
blame rather than passing the buck?
- >
This idiom comes from the card game,
poker, where the buck is an object
passed to the person who wins, in or
der to remind them that they must
start off the new jackpot
bucket
3 kick the bucket (humorous)
Someone kicks the bucket when they
die: Honestly; I was so ill, I thought I was
going to kick the bucket ♦ see also cash
in your chips > c h i p s ; pop your clogs
[ c l o g s ; bite the dust > d u s t ; give up
the ghost >g h o s t ; snuff it > s n u f f
bud
3 nip something in the bud (informal)
You nip something in the bud when
you make it stop at a very early stage:
Her dream of Hollywood stardom was
nipped in the bud last night when critics
savagely criticized her first big movie
bull
3 like a bull in a china shop
You describe someone as being like a
bull in a china shop 1 i f they are very
clumsy: Anthony was always rushing
about like a bull in a china shop, knock
ing things over, and generally causing
havoc wherever he went 2 i f they do
not make any effort to be polite and
tactful in social situations: Politically,
he often behaved like a bull in a china
shop Privately, he could be a man of
great sensitivity.
3 shoot the bull (AmE; informal)
You shoot the bull when you chat with
others in an idle way: I found him in the
drugstore shooting the bull with some
other salesmen.
3 take the bull by the horns (informal)
You take the bull by the horns when
you make a determined decision to do
something: Being the determined wo
man she was, she decided to take the bull
by the horns and organize things for her
self ♦ see also grasp th e n ettle rr n e t
t l e ; pull out all the stops s t o p s
bullet
j bite the bullet (informal)
You bite the bullet when you 1 decide
to tolerate a situation rather than complain about it, since there is nothing
you can do about it: We have to bite the bullet a little now, but once the ground has been finished, we should start mak ing profits again 2 decide that you must
do something, even though it w ill be
unpleasant: Only so much can be done
by discussion Decisions have to be ta ken, and as director you have got to bite the bullet.
This idiom refers to the practice used
by army doctors of giving patients a
b u llet to put betw een th e ir teeth during painful operations
3 sw eat 'bullets (AmE; informal)
You sweat bullets when you are very
worried or frightened: The noise down stairs had me sweating bullets
bum
o give som eone the bums rush (Am E)
You give someone the bum ’s rush
when you hurry them out o f a place:
The man in the restaurant was drunk, and the manager gave him the bums rush.
3 on the bum (AmE; informal)
1 I f something is on the bum it is not
working: 1 missed the programme be cause my radio is on the bum 2 Someone
is on the bum if they are living in an
unsettled way like a tramp: Soon after
he lost his job, he was on the bum ♦ see
also on the fritz > f r i t z
r
In American English, bum is another
word for ‘tramp’
bump
) like a bump on a log (Am E)
I f someone is like a bump on a log,
they sit or stand without moving or re
sponding: Just give me an answer D on’t sit there like a bump on a log!
bundle
j make a bundle (informal)
You make a bundle when you make a
lot o f money: We made a bundle on that stall at the carnival last year ♦ see also
Trang 28bunk 24 business
coin it o r coin it in c o i n ; make a
killing k i l l i n g ; make your pile
P I L E
Bundle here refers to banknotes.
d not go a bundle on som ething (B rE ;
inform al)
You don’t go a bundle on som ething
when you are not keen on doing it: They
don’t go a bundle on employing married
women in this company ♦ see also not
your cup o f tea r c u p
This idiom refers to the money that
you would not like to bet on something
)
bunk
3 do a bunk (B rE ; informal)
Someone does a bu n k when they run
away from a place: Several of the pupils
did a bunk during the morning break □
Two prisoners did a bunk during the
chaos of the riots
burner
o put som eth ing on th e back burner
(inform al)
You put som ething on the back b u r
ner when you delay doing it until later:
The company’s activities have been
put on the back burner until produc
tion can be resumed abroad with lower
costs.
cThis idiom is an old cooking term J
bursting
3 bursting to do something (inform al)
1 You are bu rstin g to do som ething
i f you are extremely impatient to do it:
She met me at the door; there was some
thing she was bursting to tell me 2 ‘I ’m
b u rstin g’ usually means ‘I badly need
to go to the toilet.’
bush
o beat about the bush
You tell someone not to beat about the
bush when you want them to speak
openly and directly without hiding
anything: Come on, don’t beat about the
bush What are you trying to say ?
‘Beating the bush’ is an activity car
ried out while hunting birds
business
) funny business
Funny business is tricks or dishonest
behaviour: I think there’s some funny business going on where these accounts are concerned; something isn’t quite right ♦ see also sharp p r a c tic e
P R A C T I C E
3 give som eone the business (Am E; in form al)
You give someone the business when
you treat them badly: The new teacher acted unsure o f herself so the students really gave her the business.
3 go about your business
People go about their business when
they attend to their normal everyday
duties: We watched the small boats going about their business in the harbour.
3 like nobody's business (inform al)
You do something, or something hap
pens, like nobody’s business when
you do it very well or fast, or if it hap
pens a lot: The phone’s been ringing like nobody’s business since we put that ad vert in the newspaper.
3 mean business (inform al)
People m ean business when they are
seriously determined to do what they
propose: This time they were not just threatening; they clearly meant business.
3 mind your ow n business (informal, of fensive)
1 You say to someone ‘M ind your own business!’ if you think they are being
too curious and inquisitive about your
private affairs: ‘How did you vote in the last electionV ‘M in d your own business.’
2 You are m in ding your own bu si
ness when you are concentrating on
matters which concern you, and not paying attention to, or interfering in,
other people’s affairs: I was so busy minding my own business that I didn’t notice there was anything wrong.
o none o f som eone's business or no
business o f som eone's (inform al)
A matter is none of someone’s busi
ness, or no business o f theirs, i f you
think that they are being too curious about a private matter which does not
concern them: I t ’s no business of mine how she gets the money for her foreign trips.
Trang 29butter 25 can butter
3 butter w ouldn 't melt in so-and-so's
mouth
You say that butter wouldn’t melt in
a certain persons mouth when you
want to comment that the person
looks, or acts, as i f they would never
do anything wrong, often despite the
facts to the contrary: The boy was first
arrested at the age o f 10 for giving £1,000
to a drug dealer for heroin The detective
added: ‘To look at him you d think butter
wouldn’t melt in his mouth ’
butterflies
d have butterflies or have bu tterflies
in your stomach
You have butterflies, or have butter
flies in your stomach, i f you have a
nervous feeling in your stomach: She’s
got butterflies about the exam.
bygones
o let bygones be bygones
You say let bygones be bygones’ to
someone when you agree that you
should both forget quarrels or prob
lems from the past: I expect auntie has
told you everything, but please come
now We will let bygones be bygones Dad
dy would have wanted it.
Rattling the cage which an animal or a bird is living in w ill probably make it upset or angrv
cake (see also cakes)
3 have your cake and eat it
I f someone wants to have their cake
and eat it, they want to do or have
two things which are not usually possible together, instead o f making a choice and being happy w ith just one
of those things: You can’t have both You
cant have your cake and eat it ♦ see also
th e grass is a lw a ys g reen er on th e oth er side o f the fe n c e > g r a s s ; the best o f both w orlds w o r l d s
cakes
j sell like hot cakes or go like hot cakes
A new product or item which is sell
ing, or going, like hot cakes is so pop
ular that a lot of people are buying it:
Cards depicting Santa are selling like hot cakes
call
y close call
You have a close call when a bad event
almost happens, but you manage to
avoid it just in time: Bernadette Devlin had a close call, but she survived the as
sassination attempt against her ♦ see also clo s e shave > s h a v e ; clo se or near thing >t h i n g
calm
o the calm before the storm
The calm before the storm is a time
of quiet w aiting that comes before a period of great activity or before some
unpleasant event occurs: Those who ar gue that Scotland is now experiencing the calm before the political storm could
well be proved right.
o rattle someone's cage (inform al)
I f someone seems unusually cross or
unfriendly for no obvious reason, peo
ple sometimes ask what has rattled
their cage: What rattled his cage this
morning? I said he looked well and he
told me to mind my own business ♦ see
also r u ffle s o m e o n e 's fe a th e r s
> F E A T H E R S
can
o can o f w orm s
A situation which is a can of worm s is
full o f hidden problems which have been left to get worse, because nobody noticed them or dealt with them while
they were developing: The prosecution could open a can of worms.
Trang 30candle 26 carpet
A worm is a long, thin, cylin d rical
anim al, w ith no backbone or legs,
especially one that lives in the soil
o carry the can
You c a rry the can if you take the
blame for something: We were both at
fault, but I had to carry the can.
:> in the 'can (informal)
I f something is in the can, it is already
done or achieved: By lunchtime we al
ready had two complete runs of the play
in the can
candle
3 burn the candle at both ends
You are bu rn in g the candle at both
ends i f you are making yourself tired,
probably by going to bed late at night
and getting up early in the morning:
This month you are determined to live it
up and have a good time, but you must
watch your health and try not to burn
the candle at both ends
cap
j cap in hand
You go cap in hand to ask for some
thing if you ask for it in a very humble
way: Shouldn't the elderly automatically
receive a heating allowance every winter;
instead of having to go cap in hand to the
governm ent? ♦ see also on b en d ed
knee > k n e e
o if the cap fits, w ea r it
I f the cap fits, w e ar it, means T f you
recognize yourself in my description,
then let that be the case’: ‘Are you call
ing me a traitorV ‘No, but if the cap fits,
wear it!
card
o have a card up your sleeve or keep a
card up your sleeve
You have, or are keeping, a card up
your sleeve if other people think that
you are in a difficult situation, but you
have a secret solution which you plan
to surprise them with: D on’t cry Just
wait and see Your old grandad has still
got plenty of cards up his sleeve.
When people cheat at cards they some
tim es hide an ex tra card up th eir
sleeve
cards
j the cards are stacked a gainst som eone
I f the cards are stacked against
you you are in a situation which gives
you very little hope of success: He’s g iv ing his best effort to the election cam paign, but the cards are stacked against him ♦ see also up against it u p
d have all the cards or hold all the cards
I f you have, or hold, all the cards you
have an advantage which puts you in
control of a situation: They know I hold all the cards, so I ’ll just wait and see what they do next
o lay your cards on the table or put your cards on the table
You lay, or put, your cards on the ta
ble when you make your intentions
known, rather than trying to keep
them secret: I ’d be glad, if you put your cards on the table ♦ see also lay it on
th e line t l i n e
o play your cards close to your ch est or
keep your cards close to your ch est
You are playing, or keeping, your
cards close to your chest when you
do not give much information to other
people about what you are doing: The League’s commercial director is playing his cards close to his chest
carpet
o roll out the red carpet fo r som eone
or g ive so m eon e the r e d -c a r p e t treatm ent
You roll out the red carpet for
someone who is visiting you, or give them the re d -carp et treatment,
when you make a great effort to w el
come them: What, a cream sponge for dessert? You’re giving Gran the red- carpet treatment, aren’t you'?
When an important person visits another country, a red carpet is sometimes put on the ground for them to walk on, as a sign of respect
o s w e e p som ething under the carpet
or brush som ething under th e carpet
You sweep, or brush, something, such as a problem, under the carpet
when you ignore it or try to hide it from
Trang 31carry 27 cat
other people because you do not want
to deal with it: The row continued last
week, despite deliberate efforts in
Bonn to brush the affair under the car
pet
carry
) carry it o ff
You say that you carried it o ff if you
know you did something badly but you
think that nobody else noticed your
mistakes or weaknesses: My speech
wasn't very well prepared, but I think I
carried it off
case
j make a fed era l ca se out o f s o m e
thing (A m E )
I f you say someone is m akin g a fed
eral case out of something, you be
lieve they are exaggerating its
seriousness or importance: It was just
a simple mistake, but he tried to make a
federal case out of it ♦ see also make a
big deal abou t som eth ing d e a l
f - • - -In the United States, the more serious
cases often go to federal courts,
castles
o build castles in the air
You are building castles in the a ir
when you make plans based on hopes
and wishes which w ill probably never
come true: Unless she knows that she's
got the job, all her plans are just castles
in the air ♦ see also ch ase rain b ow s
> R A I N B O W S
cat
o fight like cat and dog (B r E ) or figh t
like cats and d o gs (A m E )
Two people fight like cat and dog, or
fight like cats and dogs, when they
argue fiercely whenever they are to
gether: My sister and I get on much bet
ter now, but when we were little we used
to fight like cat and dog ♦ see also at
each o th e r s th roats > t h r o a t s
o let the cat out o f the bag
You let the cat out o f the b a g if you
accidentally give away information
which is supposed to remain a secret:
Mum and Dad found out about the party;
someone let the cat out of the bag ♦ see
also spill the beans > b e a n s ; give the
gam e aw ay > g a m e
o like a cat on hot bricks (B r E ) or like a
cat on a hot tin roof
I f you are so excited or anxious that you cannot sit still or concentrate
properly, you are like a cat on hot
bricks or a cat on a hot tin roof: Ford
is hopping like a cat on hot bricks, demanding that something should be done.
o like the cat that got the cream
Someone who looks like the cat that
got the cream is looking very pleased
with themselves: He was smiling, M r Barnes, like the cat that got the cream.
) not have a cat in hells chance or not
stand a cat in hells chance (inform al)
You do not have, or stand, a cat in
hell’s chance i f you are extremely un
likely to succeed: We'd be stupid to climb
in this weather We wouldn't have a cat in
hell's chance o f reaching the top ♦ see also not have a hope in hell > h o p e
o play cat-and- mouse w ith som eone
I f someone plays cat-and-m ouse
with a person less powerful than them
selves, they tease them by repeatedly making them afraid and then letting
them relax: The Government is playing cat-and-mouse with p olitical prisoners, releasing and re-imprisoning them.
A cat which has caught a mouse oftenreleases it several times to watch it run, before finally killing it
-o set the cat am-ong the pige-ons -or put
the cat among the pigeons (B rE )
I f someone has set, or put, the cat
am ong the pigeons, they have made
a difficult situation even worse: He said what? That's really set the cat among the pigeons now, hasn't it?
o think you are the cat's whiskers or
the cat's py jamas (insulting)
I f you say that someone thinks they
are the cat’s whiskers, or the cat’s pyjamas, you think they have too high
an opinion of themselves: She thinks she's the cat's whiskers, but she's no bet
ter than anyone else ♦ see also think
you are th e bee's knees d > b e e
o w hen the cat's away, the m ice will p|ay
I f someone says ‘when the cat’s away,
Trang 32catch 28 chance
the mice w ill play’, they mean that
when the person who is normally in
authority is absent, people w ill take ad
vantage o f the situation: The boss is off
sick, so we're all going to the pub for the
afternoon When the cat's away
catch
3 catch som eone at it or catch s o m e
one red- handed (inform al)
You catch someone at it, or catch
someone red-handed, when you find
them in the act of doing something
forbidden: N ight patrols were started
in some rural areas, and they some
times caught cattle thieves red-
handed ♦ see also c a tc h s o m e o n e
w ith th eir tro u s ers d o w n ^ t r o u
s e r s
o w hat's the catch?
People ask ‘w hat’s the catch?’ i f they
think there must be a problem with
something that seems good, and easy
to obtain: T 'll give it to you completely
free of charge.' ‘Really? So what's the
catchV
3 you w o n 't catch so-and-so or you
w o n 't catch so -an d -so dead ( infor
mal)
You say that you won’t catch so-and-
so, or you w on’t catch so -an d -so
dead, doing a certain activity, if you
are sure that that person would never
do, or even consider doing, it: You won't
catch my husband dancing He says it's
naff
catch-up
o play catch-up or play catch-up ball
{AmE; informal)
You play catch-up, or play catch-up
ball, when you try harder in order to
be as good as someone else: The Repub
lican gains meant the Democrats would
have to play catch-up before the next elec
tion
caution
3 th ro w caution to the wind
When you throw caution to the wind,
you decide to take a risk, and not to
w orry about the possible bad result
o f your actions: You cannot be tentative
or apprehensive in your movements
you have to throw caution to the wind
and attack' with your objective clearly in
mind.
ceiling
3 hit the ceiling
You hit the ceiling when you become
very angry: When James saw the tele phone bill, he hit the ceiling
cellar
3 in the cellar {Am E)
I f a sports team is in the cellar, they
are last in their league: The Chicago Cubs started the season well, but were soon in the cellar\
cent
3 not w orth a red cent (A m E )
I f something is not worth a red cent,
it is not worth anything: Tom wants me
to buy his car, but it's not worth a red cent.
cents
o put your t w o cents in or put your
t w o cents' w o rth in (A m E )
1 I f you put your two cents in, or put
your two cents’ w orth in, you take
part in a discussion by expressing your
opinion: They criticized my school, but I
put my two cents in 2 (inform al) You
put your two cents in, or put your two cents’ w orth in, when you give
unwanted advice: When it comes to the way we bring up our kids, she always has to put her two cents' worth in ♦ see also put your p e n n y w o rth in ^ p e n
n y w o r t h
cerem ony
3 stand on cerem ony
I f you agree not to stand on cere
mony, you decide with someone that
you w ill ignore certain formalities:
Well bring him in We don't stand on cere mony in this house
chalk
3 like chalk and ch eese (B rE )
Two things or people that are like
chalk and cheese are completely dif
ferent
3 not by a long chalk (B rE )
I f something is not the case by a long
chalk, then it is not at all the case: I'm
afraid this essay doesn't deserve a pass mark Not by a long chalk
chance
3 b low your chance (inform al)
I f someone has blow n their chance,
they have lost an opportunity by
Trang 33mak-chance 29 chance
The next time you write or talk about change you might try to use some
of the following idioms (Remember you can see how to use each idiom
correctly by looking at its entry, which you can find under the word
printed in heavy type.)
for the betterturn over a new leaf
take a turn for the better
a turn-up for the books
change your w ays
a world o f difference
for the worse
go to the dogs
go downhill
down the drain
chop and change
move the goalposts
change your mind
change your tune
ing a mistake or by doing the wrong
things: She’d blown her chance to get
close to Guy.
o chance would be a fine thing! (B rE ;
informal)
I f someone wishes that the thing which
has just been mentioned were true, and
thinks that it is unlikely that they w ill
be able to do it, they might say ‘chance
would be a fine thing!1: How I would
have liked to play that, I thought, but
chance would be a fine thing!
d ’fat chance (informal)
You say there is a fat chance or a fat
chance of something if you are sure
that that thing w ill not happen: ‘Please
stop loving medemands Smith at the al
bum’s climax Fat chance They’ll love
him even more.
o a fighting chance
You have a fighting chance i f you
have a small, but real, possibility of
success: I f she can get through the first
24 hours, she’s got a fighting chance of
surviving.
o given half a chance
I f you say that a person would do something, especially something considered
to be unacceptable, given h a lf a
chance, you mean that they would do
it happily at the slightest opportunity:
That Tom is such a womanizer He’d be in bed with his own brother’s wife, given half a ch ance.
3 in w ith a chance (B rE )
You are in with a chance i f there is a
good possibility that you w ill succeed
or win: This horse has got to be in with
a chance He has been racing well this season and the going is good.
o jump at the chance
I f someone says they would jum p at
the chance to do something, they
mean they would certainly do it i f they
could: I don’t understand why you turned down that job I ’d jump at the chance to work abroad.
o not stand a chance
You do not stand a chance i f you have
no hope o f succeeding or winning: I ’ve
Trang 34change 30 chestnut
decided not to enter the competition I
don’t stand a chance against the other
contestants.
3 on the off-ch ance
You do something on the off-chance
when you hope it w ill be useful or suc
cessful but do not expect it to be: H i!
I ’m just calling you on the off-chance that
you may be free this afternoon
change see also Idiom s stu dy page 29
d have a change o f heart
When you have a change of heart,
you decide not to do something which
you had intended to do, or you change
your opinion about something: The
Government decided that Britain would
remain independent, unless there was a
change o f heart in Washington
changes
3 ring the changes
You rin g the changes, or rin g the
changes on something, when you
change something or do something
new for variety: Why not ring the
changes and freshen up your image with
some of this season’s fantasy jewellery ?
character
o in character
A certain action is in character for
someone if it is what you would expect
them to do: Tony always gets aggressive
when he’s drunk I ’m afraid he was act
ing very much in character.
3 out o f character
A certain action is out o f character
for someone if it is the opposite of what
you would expect them to do: I t ’s very
out of character for him to be so quiet
He’s usually such a mischievous boy
charity
o charity begins at home
I f someone says ‘charity begins at
home’, they mean that you should con
centrate on helping the people who are
close to you instead of making an effort
to help people you do not know: Many
believe that charity begins at home and
prefer to donate to British, rather than
overseas, relief
Charley
o look a Charley or fe e l like a Charley
(BrE\ old , informal)
You look, or feel like, a Charley if an
embarrassing event or situation makes
you appear or feel foolish in public: I felt a proper Charley when I got to the church and realized I had left the wed ding rings at home
cheek
3 cheek by jow l
When two very different things or peo
ple are cheek by jowl, they are beside
each other or sharing the same space:
In Montmartre, you will fin d painters cheek by jowl with flower sellers,
A dog’s jowls are the hanging folds of
loose skin which it has instead o f cheeks
3 turn the other cheek
You turn the other cheek when you
accept the bad actions or words which someone directs at you without complaining or feeling angry with them:
The B ritish have a reputation for not complaining Turning the other cheek is the national pastime.
In the Bible, Jesus instructs his followers to offer the other cheek if someone hits them on one of their cheeks
cheese
3 hard ch eese (B rE ; informal)
I f someone says ‘h ard cheese’ about
another person’s misfortune, it is a rude way o f saying that that person w ill
just have to accept the situation: ‘Id o n ’t want to come to the shops with you.’
‘Hard cheese, you’re coming.’ ♦ see also
hard or tough luck > l u c k
Cheshire
o grin like a Cheshire cat
A person who is grin n in g like a Che
shire cat is smiling widely, in a rather
foolish-looking way: ‘I t ’s over,’ I said out loud I turned to face Kathleen She was smiling like a Cheshire cat ‘I t ’s going to
be all right now,’ I told her.
The Cheshire Cat is a character in
Lewis Carroll’s A lic e ’s Adventures in
Trang 35chicken 31 chips
is no longer funny: Nigel bent and
kissed her hand, murmuring something
about pretty, older sisters Juliet cringed
Not that old chestnut! 2 a subject that
has been debated so much that people
have become bored with it: The subject
under discussion is that old chestnut,
public or private financing o f the arts
chicken
o the chicken and the eg g
People call two things the chicken
and the egg if they are closely linked,
but it is difficult to tell which one
causes the other: Which came first, the
chicken or the egg? The existence of a
stable political culture in Britain may be
due to the effectiveness of government
But what has enabled government to be
effective?
chickens
o count your chickens before they are
hatched
I f someone tells you not to count your
chickens before they are hatched,
they mean that you should not be sure
that something good is going to happen
until it has actually happened: I
wouldn't count your chickens, M r Vass
Tve agreed to sign the contract, but that's
all I've agreed to ♦ see also I w ou ld n 't
bank on it > b a n k
child
o child's play
Something that is described as child’s
play is so easy that you never worry
about it: I t ’s child's play giving lectures
But I still get nervous when I have to give
an after-dinner speech ♦ see also easy
as ABC or anything or falling o f f a
log or pie or winking l > e a s y ; a piece
o f cake > p i e c e ; nothing to it > n o t h
-I N G
chin
o keep your chin up
I f you tell someone to keep their chin
up, you mean that they should try not
to be unhappy or afraid: Come on, keep
your chin up Things are bound to get
better soon,
o take it on the chin
I f someone accepts something upset
ting or discouraging, without com
plaining, you can say they are taking
it on the chin: See if he ever answers
back, or, indeed, reacts in any other way other than to quietly take it on the chin
chip
d a chip o ff the old blockYou say that someone, especially a man
or boy, is a chip off the old block if, in
behaviour or personality, he reminds
you of his father: From the doorstep she smiled at Jimmy, a chip off the old block with his grey eyes and a bit o f his dad's twinkle ♦ see also ta rre d w ith th e
sam e brush d b r u s h
o have a chip on your shoulder
Someone who has a chip on their
shoulder, or a chip on their shoulder about something, privately resents
something, and gets easily upset or an
gry when they are reminded of it: He had a bit of a chip on his shoulder be cause he felt that other people who were not so talented but who had the right background and connections had got ahead of him and had better career p ro spects
chips
o cash in your chips (informal)
To cash in your chips is to die: The old
man cashed in his chips last week Fu neral's on Friday ♦ see also b re a th e
your last > l a s t ; kick the bucket
> b u c k e t ; pop your c lo g s > c l o g s ;
bite the dust > d u s t ; g ive up the ghost > g h o s t ; snuff it >s n u f f
Gamblers usually cash in their chips
[= exchange them for money], just before they leave the casino
) in the 'chips (Am E; informal)
Someone who is in the chips is rich:
He could do anything he wanted, because his family was in the chips.
o w hen the chips are dow n (inform al)
A period of time when the chips are
down is one when you have a particu
lar need, giving you the opportunity
to judge the true value of the people or
things around you: It's when the chips are down that you will find out what he's really capable of ♦ see also co m e to th e
crunch > c r u n c h ; w hen push com es
to shove o p u s h
Trang 36chop 32 clear
In gambling, when the chips are down
[=on the table], you cannot change
your bet
chop
) chop and change (B r E )
I f someone is always chopping and
changing, they never seem happy with
their decisions, and are continually
changing them: Once youve made the
choice though, stick to it, dont chop and
change from one style to another:
o for the chop (B rE ; inform al)
1 Something that is for the chop is
going to stop existing as the result o f
official action: I ’m afraid housing bene
fit is probably next for the chop 2 Some
one who is for the chop is going to lose
their job: Were going to a company meet
ing today to fin d out who's for the chop
o g e t the chop (B rE ; inform al)
1 I f something gets the chop, it sud
denly stops existing as the result o f of
ficial action: How w ill the tourist
industry survive if the ferry service gets
the chop? 2 I f someone gets the chop,
they lose their job suddenly: I f B ill gets
the chop Fm going to hand in my notice
chord
o strike a chord
When something strikes a chord, or
strikes a chord with someone, they
have an understanding of it, or view it
w ith sympathy, because it relates to
something in their own experience:
Our appeal for rights to paternity leave
struck a chord with many young fathers
on the committee
circle
o com e full circle or turn full circle
I f things come, or turn, full circle, a
situation which existed in the past
changes and develops, but then re
turns, probably in a slightly different
form, in the present: Sadly, events have
come fu ll circle and those who defended
the university then must do so again
city hall
o figh t city hall (A m E )
I f you fight city hall, you fight in a
hopeless way against government em
ployees who are more interested in
rules than in your problem: I had a
good case but you can’t fight city hall
clam
) shut up like a clam or clam up
I f you shut up like a clam , or clam
up, you refuse to speak about some
thing: I tried to fin d out if she knew any thing, but she shut up like a clam.
C A clam is a shellfish whose shell is " "made of two halves which it closes together tightly when it senses danger,
clanger
3 drop a clanger
Someone has dropped a clanger if
they have accidentally said or done
something embarrassing in public: I think I dropped a clanger when I told her she had lost weight Was it the wrong thing to say? ♦ see also put your fo o t in
it or in your mouth > f o o t
class
o in a class o f your ow n
I f you consider that someone or some
thing is in a class o f their own, you
think that they are much better than any other in their area of activity:
Nureyev was in a class o f his own We shall never see a dancer like him again.
♦ see also a cut a b o v e or a cut above
th e rest > c u t ; in a d iffe re n t league
t> L E A G U E
clean
o clean as a w histle
Something that is as clean as a w h is
tle is very clean.
o com e clean
When you come clean, you admit that
you have done something wrong after
telling lies about it for some time: I may as well come clean I broke the vase then lied about it to everyone
cleaners
3 take som eone to the cleaners (infor mal)
I f someone takes you to the cleaners,
their actions result in your losing or spending all or a lot o f your money, or
in your complete defeat: His ex-wife really took him to the cleaners in the di vorce settlement
clear
3 clear as a bell
A sound is as clear as a bell i f you can
Trang 37clever 33 club
hear it very easily: ‘Can you hear meV
‘Yes, you re as clear as a bell!
) clear as mud (informal)
You say that something such as an ex
planation is as clear as mud i f it is
not very clear at all: You discover which
bits are clear as daylight and which are
clear as mud.
) in the clear
1 You are in the clear i f you are no
longer believed to have committed a
crime: Though it was finally agreed
that I was in the clear, I never got
a formal apology from the police.
2 You are also in the clear i f you
no longer have a debt to pay: I f I
watch what I spend for the next fortnight,
I should be in the clear next month.
3 steer clear o f or stay clear o f
You steer, or stay, clear o f someone or
something when you try to avoid them:
It was prudent to steer clear of political
debate ♦ see also keep your distan ce
T> D I S T A N C E
clever
o to o clever by half (insulting)
I f you say that someone is too clever
by half, you mean that their confident
behaviour and high opinion of their
own abilities annoys you: He stood up,
waved at Monica, winked at Paula and
was gone ‘That man is too clever by half,'
Paula commented
clock
o against the clock
When you do something against the
clock, you are doing it as fast as you
can and recording how long it takes
you: It involves an arduous ten kilometre
run preceded by a long assault course,
against the clock.
clogs
o pop your clo g s (B rE ; in fo rm a l, hu
morous)
To pop your clogs is to die: I've started
thinking about making my will, though
I d ont intend to pop my clogs for
a few years yet ♦ see also kick th e
bu cket > b u c k e t ; cash in your chips
> c h i p s ; bite the dust > d u s t ; give
up the gh ost o g h o s t ; sn uff it
> S N U F F
close
d com e to a close or draw to a close
When something comes to a close, it finishes; if something is draw ing to a
close, it is about to finish: The happy
day had come to a close, and everyone went to bed
cloud
i cloud cuckoo land (informal)
I f you say that someone is in cloud
cuckoo land, you mean that they are
mad or that their idea of reality is not
accurate: It's always going to be like that here, and anyone who thinks differently
is living in cloud cuckoo land.
3 every cloud has a silver lining
I f you say that every cloud has a sil
ver lining, you mean that there is al
ways a positive side to everything,
however bad it may seem: Now you've lost your job, at least you'll have more time for the kids Every cloud has a silver lining.
Notice how this idiom can be adapted
to suit the speaker s needs People also
sometimes just say ‘Every cloud \
3 on cloud nine
I f you are on cloud nine, you are extre
mely happy: When I was chosen to fight
my first election in Birmingham, I was
on cloud nine ♦ see also w a lk on air
> a i r ; thrilled to bits > b i t s ; in seventh heaven [> h e a v e n ; o ver the moon > m o o n
3 under a cloud
I f you are under a cloud, you are in
trouble for something which you have done previously and which has caused
strong disapproval: I don't know the exact circumstances of her resignation, but she left under a bit of a cloud
clover
3 in 'clover (inform al)
Someone who is in clover is livin g hap
pily and in great comfort: I f Marcos was cynical, he was no more so than A m eri can foreign policy which kept him in power and in clover for 20 years ♦ see also in th e m oney > m o n e y
club
3 join the club (inform al)
You can say ‘join the club’ i f someone
has just complained about something
Trang 38clue 34 coin
and you want to agree with them or to
say that you are affected in the same
way: T hate this new pedestrian cross
ing.’ Join the club It doesn’t give you
enough time to get over.’
clue
3 not have a clue (inform al)
1 You say you do not have a clue when
you do not know something, or when
you are ignorant about a certain sub
ject: Sorry, I haven’t a clue about cars 2
Someone who does n ot have a clue in
general is unable to do anything prop
erly: My God! Have you seen what he’s
wearing? He just doesn’t have a clue,
does he? ♦ see also not have an earth ly
> E A R T H L Y
clued
o clued ’up (informal)
When you are clued up, you have a lot
o f knowledge about a particular thing:
Choosing the right sparkling wine can be
a minefield if you are not clued up on the
different brands available
coals
o carry coals to N ew ca stle or take
coals to N ew ca stle
I f you are c a r r y in g , or ta k in g , co als
to N ew ca stle, you are taking some
thing to a place where there is plenty
o f that thing already: It was left to Wes
tern businessmen to manufacture the T-
shirts which ended up on the Soviet
black market, an acute case of carrying
coals to Newcastle.
N otice that simply saying 'c o a ls to
N ew ca stle’ is often enough
d haul som eone over the coals
You haul so m eo n e o v e r th e co a ls
when you tell them severely that you
disapprove of something they have
done, in order to embarrass them: I
should have hauled him over the coals
for not surrendering all of his files to
me ♦ see also g iv e s o m e o n e a rap
o ver th e knuckles > r a p
coast
o the coast is clear
You say that the co a s t is c le a r when
you consider that it is safe to do some
thing because a certain person is ab
sent or is not watching: Once you’re
there, stay absolutely quiet take slow, calm, soft breaths and don’t move until you are sure that the coast is clear
cobw ebs
3 blow the co b w eb s aw ay (B rE )
When people say that going outside
w ill b low the cobw ebs away, they mean that it w ill make you feel better
and more lively: Why don’t you go for a quick walk? That’ll soon blow the cob webs away.
A cobw eb is a network o f threads made by a spider Cobwebs gather in places that do not get used, or cleaned, very often
cock
o cock-and- bull story
I f you refer to someone’s excuse or explanation as a co ck -a n d -b u ll story,
you mean that you don’t believe it: Last night, she had returned at some un earthly hour with some cock-and-bull story about having to work late,
o g o o f f at half- co ck or g o o f f half-
cockedSomething which g o es o f f at h a lf- cock, or goes o f f h a lf-c o ck ed , is unsuccessful because o f lack of prepara
tion: My brother tends to rush into things, so his projects often go off at half- cock.
On old guns, if the firin g mechanism was at h a lf-c o c k when the gun fired, the shot would be wasted
cockles
o w arm the cockles o f so m eon e's1 heart
(old or humorous)
You say that something w a rm s the
co ck les o f y o u r h e a rt if it makes you feel happy and sure that the world is
full o f good things: Talk of means- testing pensions hardly warms the cockles.
s
-Notice that just saying 'such-and-such
w arm s the co ck les’ is often enough
Trang 39-cold 35 compliment
ured he could make a lot of money out of
this room - he could charge £10 an hour
and really coin it in ♦ see also make a
bundle b u n d l e ; make a killing
k i l l i n g : make your pile p i l e
cold
) com e in from the cold
When someone co m es in fr o m the
cold, they re-enter a group or rejoin
an activity after a period of time when
they were not permitted to do so: A lle
gations of misconduct were dropped and
the M P came back in from the cold.
3 leave som eone cold
I f something leaves you cold, it has no
effect on your emotions: I ’m afraid the
film left me cold I couldn’t sympathize
with either of the main characters.
3 out cold
Someone who is out co ld is uncon
scious: I saw him fall, but when I got to
him he was out cold
collar
3 hot under the collar
I f you are h ot u n der the co lla r, you
feel annoyed and become rather agi
tated: There’s no need to get so hot under
the collar I ’m just slower than you, that’s
all Now explain again, slowly
colour (A m E color)
o add colour to something
Something that adds co lou r to so m e
th in g else brings some energy, interest
or variety to that thing: His enthusias
tic lecturing style adds colour to a subject
that many people regard as dull
d lend colour to something
Something that lends c o lo u r to a
story or argument, for example, makes
it appear more likely, believable or rea
sonable: It is essential that nothing is
done that might lend colour to the sug
gestion that they are favouring any one
section of the community
o o ff- colour (B rE )
I f you are off-co lo u r, you are not feel
ing very well, but you are not really ill
either: I ’ve been feeling a bit off-colour
ever since I came back from holiday ♦
see also look like death w a rm e d up
> DEATH
o o ff- color (A m E )
I f something is o ff-c o lo r, it is consid
ered to be rude or in bad taste: Most of
the comedians stand-up act consisted of off-color jokes.
3 see the colour o f som eone's money
(informal)
I f you say that you want to see the co l
ou r o f so m eo n e’s money, you mean that you want them to prove that they can be trusted by supporting what they
say with money: He says he’ll buy it, but
I ’ll wait to see the colour o f his money be fore I take the advert down
colours
d someone's true colours
I f someone shows th e ir tru e colours,
or i f th e ir tru e co lou rs are showing, they have stopped pretending to be nicer than they really are, and are starting to show the unpleasant side
o f their character: Anyway, she’s seen him in his true colours now, and she’s lost interest.
3 w ith flying colours When you do something w ith fly in g colours, you do it easily and with great
success: She passed her exams with fly ing colours
unrefined behaviour: That Sue’s as common as dirt.
3 comm on-or-garden (B rE )
A c o m m o n -o r-g a rd e n person or thing is an ordinary or unexceptional
person or thing: He lived in a normal common-or-garden 'caravan
company
3 t w o s company, three's a crow d
I f someone says ‘tw o ’s com pany,
th r e e ’s a c ro w d ’, they mean that, in their opinion, two people are more likely to be happy together than a
group of three: No, sorry, I ’d rather you didn’t come with us Two’s company.
f This expression can also refer to a cou
ple of lovers who do not want to be disturbed by another person
\ - — -
-compliment
Trang 40compliments 36 contradiction
) backhanded compliment
A backhanded com plim ent is a re
mark which is intended to be, or seems
like, a compliment, but in fact is not:
She said that I was dressed much more
tastefully than usual, which was rather
a backhanded compliment
compliments
3 fish for compliments
You are fish in g for com plim ents i f
you try, probably by asking questions,
to persuade someone to make a posi
tive comment about you: 'You re push
ing me in the direction o f flattery again,'
he said softly ‘I was not fishing for com
pliments.V
concern
o a going con cern
Something such as a business is a
going concern if it is operating suc
cessfully and making money: We will
have to increase the profits before we can
sell the business as a going concern
conclusions
o jump to con elusions
You jum p to conclusions when you
form a judgement of a situation without
knowing all the facts: It may just be a
coincidence, so let's not jump to any con
clusions
condition
o in mint con dition
Something that is in m int condition
is in excellent condition, as i f it had
never been used: A black and white £5
note, printed between 1920 and 1956,
costs from £20 Those in mint condition
have doubled in value over the last two
years ♦ see also sou n d as a bell
> S O U N D
confidence
3 in confidence
You tell someone something in confi
dence when you instruct them to keep
it secret: Why did you go spreading the
things I told you in strictest confidence?
conscience
3 in all conscience or in g o o d co n
science
I f you do or say something in all con
science, or in good conscience, you
do or say it without feeling guilty:
How, in all conscience, can you continue
living with your parents without paying any rent?
3 prick som eone's conscience
I f certain thoughts are pricking your
conscience, they are preventing you
from forgetting guilty feelings: A ll the signs which I saw and chose to ignore they've been pricking my conscience since he died.
3 w ith a clear conscience
You do something with a clear con
science i f you are sure that you have
no reason to feel ashamed or guilty
about doing it: The clear conscience with which most people here avoid taxes
if they can, is to do with their feeling of powerlessness in relation to government
considered
3 all things con sidered
You say that something is the case, all
things considered, when you are giv
ing a general opinion after thinking
about the whole situation: It rained all the time, but all things considered, we had a good weekend ♦ see also at th e
end o f th e day > e n d
consideration
3 take something into conside1 ration
You take som ething into considera
tion if you think about it, and how your
actions w ill affect it, before making a
decision: You've got to take his feelings into consideration.
3 under conside1 ration
Something that is under considera
tion is being considered by someone
before they decide whether to accept
or reject it: Proposals for a new visitors' centre are currently under consideration
contempt
3 hold in con tem pt
I f you hold someone or something in
contempt, you have no respect at all
for them: He holds all violence in the ut most contempt
contradiction
3 contradiction in terms
I f you call a combination o f words a
contradiction in terms, you are say
ing that it does not make sense because the two elements from which it is
formed contradict each other: The most important instrument is subsidy, even